{"id":76089,"date":"2026-08-13T01:49:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T17:49:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=76089"},"modified":"2026-08-13T01:49:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T17:49:01","slug":"askst-what-next-for-lim-tean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=76089","title":{"rendered":"askST: What next for Lim Tean?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">SINGAPORE \u2013<!-- --> Lawyer and opposition politician Lim Tean, 61, was arrested by Singapore police on Aug 11 after being handed over by the Malaysian authorities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He was detained in Johor Bahru on Aug 6 by the Royal Malaysia Police after a warrant of arrest was issued against him in Singapore.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The warrant was over his failure to surrender to the State Courts on Aug 3 to begin serving a jail term of three months and a week for practising law without a valid certificate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Lim was convicted of three charges under the Legal Profession Act in July 2024, and\u00a0initially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/courts-crime\/jail-fine-for-lim-tean-after-practising-as-a-lawyer-without-valid-certificate-in-2021?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">sentenced to six weeks\u2019 jail and a fine of $1,000<\/span><\/a>\u00a0by a district judge in February 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Lim and the prosecution subsequently filed appeals, and in February 2026, the High Court judge allowed the prosecution\u2019s appeal and enhanced\u00a0Lim\u2019s sentence to imprisonment of three months and a week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Lim was back in court in April\u00a02026, where\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/courts-crime\/lim-tean-fined-30000-in-disciplinary-case-over-handling-of-clients-money?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">he was fined $30,000<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in a disciplinary case over his handling of a $30,000 cheque that was meant for his client.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"font-primary-headline-md-semibold\" data-testid=\"article-subhead-test-id\">What are the penalties for jumping bail?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Ng Kai Ling, associate director at LIMN Law Corp, said that\u00a0a failure to surrender to custody to serve a sentence could constitute a criminal offence, if done knowingly and without reasonable excuse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The penalty is a fine or jail term of up to three years, or both.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Absconding and leaving Singapore does not mean he will receive additional charges, but it could create a legal presumption that he had no reasonable excuse for failing to surrender to custody, she added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">If he does not have a reasonable excuse, using resources that had to be mobilised to bring him back to Singapore may be an aggravating factor when the court determines the appropriate sentence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Ng said this may mean an additional fine or jail term of up to three years, or both \u2013 on top of the current sentence.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Lim Tean arrested in Singapore after being handed over by Malaysia authorities\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cvo8bM-DvjQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"font-primary-headline-md-semibold\" data-testid=\"article-subhead-test-id\">Who is Lim Tean?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Lim is the founder and secretary-general of Peoples Voice. He has been an opposition figure and lawyer in Singapore for more than three decades \u2013 first being admitted as an advocate and solicitor in 1991.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In 1998, Lim joined a major local law firm and worked there till 2007, leaving as an equity partner.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He later took an extended sabbatical from practice between 2007 and 2017 to develop an Indonesian mining company.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He returned to practice in 2017, setting up his own law firm \u2013 Carson Law Chambers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Lim is the son of a <!-- -->former diplomat<!-- --> and senior civil servant. The older Lim, who was based in Moscow for a period of time, was in the <!-- -->public service for 20 years<!-- -->, including at the People\u2019s Association and <!-- -->the then<!-- --> Ministry of Culture.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">His mother was a Chinese teacher for over 40 years, Lim shared in a Facebook video.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"font-primary-headline-md-semibold\" data-testid=\"article-subhead-test-id\">What past cases did he work on?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Lim represented then blogger Leong Sze Hian in a 2018 defamation case. Then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had sued Leong over a Facebook post that he shared on November 2018.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">It was linked to an article\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/politics\/pm-lee-sues-financial-adviser-leong-sze-hian-for-defamation-contained-in-facebook-post?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">falsely linking Lee to the 1MDB corruption scandal in Malaysia.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Leong lost the case and was ordered to pay Lee a sum of over $262,000 for defamation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In April 2021, Lim attended a court hearing as the legal representative for The Online Citizen (TOC) editor Xu Yuanchen, better known as Terry Xu, in a case involving Lee again.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Lee had filed two defamation suits over an article published on the TOC website and separately sued Xu and Rubaashini Shunmuganathan, the Malaysian author of the article.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The High Court\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/courts-crime\/high-court-awards-pm-lee-210000-in-damages-in-defamation-suits-against-toc?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">awarded Lee a total of $210,000 in damages in September 2021.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"font-primary-headline-md-semibold\" data-testid=\"article-subhead-test-id\">What legal troubles did Lim face previously?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Lim faced a slew of charges in 2023 \u2013 from criminal breach of trust to unlawful stalking to acting as an advocate or solicitor without a valid practising certificate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He had allegedly committed criminal breach of trust as a solicitor of the law firm between Nov 14 and Dec 4, 2019.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The police said Lim was entrusted with $30,000, which had been awarded to a former client as settlement in a motor injury civil suit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/courts-crime\/lim-tean-arrested-for-criminal-breach-of-trust-investigated-for-unlawful?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">said to have misappropriated the monies.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In another unrelated case, he allegedly stalked a former employee between April and May 2020 by repeatedly sending her flirtatious text messages, causing her distress.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Lim had also acted as an advocate or solicitor without a valid practising certificate on 66 separate occasions between April 1 and June 9 in 2025.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/askst-what-next-for-lawyer-lim-tean-after-his-deportation-from-johor-bahru-to-singapore\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SINGAPORE \u2013 Lawyer and opposition politician Lim Tean, 61, was arrested by Singapore police on Aug 11 after being handed over by the Malaysian authorities&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":76091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/76091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}